Charging SLA in a pro 6

Little Pete · July 7th, 2006, 09:50 PM

Hey folks,

I was wondering what the normal times people find these take to charge? Halcyon's manual suggests 12 hours (from empty I guess) and says the red light on the charger will go out once charged.

Mine's been going for nigh on 20 hours (in a couple of 'shifts') I think and the light still hasn't gone out.

Anybody have this happen?

PS: In water.......the mutts!

thostr · July 7th, 2006, 10:05 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete)

Hey folks,
Mine's been going for nigh on 20 hours (in a couple of 'shifts') I think and the light still hasn't gone out.

Anybody have this happen?

Never seen this happen with mine (or other SLA-based dive light batteries I've had), and I would say that this is indicative of either a failed battery, loose cabling or failed charger. Aquiring a new battery could be the cheapest way to try to resolve the problem, apart from checking the cabling of course. In Norway a new battery costs around £8 (standard off the shelf SLA battery with the exact same battery case dimensions and battery specifications).

How many recharge cycles on the particular battery and what's the typical degree of discharge (%) of the battery?

Little Pete · July 7th, 2006, 10:09 PM

This is a brand new battery, used once in water for about 40 mins. Topped off for about 3 hours before use as I wasn't sure how charged they were delivered.

Lovely in water and the light is functioning fine. It just appears that the charger isn't going fast or something.

thostr · July 8th, 2006, 01:29 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete)

This is a brand new battery, used once in water for about 40 mins. Topped off for about 3 hours before use as I wasn't sure how charged they were delivered.

Lovely in water and the light is functioning fine. It just appears that the charger isn't going fast or something.

Ah, brand new stuff? probably faulty then, just have it changed for new equipment at your retailer...

***Bob Cooper*** · July 8th, 2006, 01:40 PM

The only way to tell is to burn test the battery. Do this regularly and it will give you a good idea about the state of your battery.

thostr · July 8th, 2006, 02:22 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Bob Cooper)

The only way to tell is to burn test the battery. Do this regularly and it will give you a good idea about the state of your battery.

Only do this with SLA batteries if you are truly dependent on your light i.e. in cave environments or similar, as a full discharge causes extra strain to this type of battery and severely reduces the number of usable charge cycles you can expect from the battery. Burn test only before critical dives. Instead, avoid full discharges and if possible around 50% on as many dives as possible. Then SLA will last a long time. Good thing with SLA is the low price combined with great reliability (generally much better than NiMH) given that you don't keep discharging the battery fully.

July 7th, 2006, 09:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Little Pete(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 509	Hey folks, I was wondering what the normal times people find these take to charge? Halcyon's manual suggests 12 hours (from empty I guess) and says the red light on the charger will go out once charged. Mine's been going for nigh on 20 hours (in a couple of 'shifts') I think and the light still hasn't gone out. Anybody have this happen? PS: In water.......the mutts! __________________ The shortesk pink mask wearing str#ke on DIRx apparently

July 7th, 2006, 10:09 PM	#3 (permalink)
Little Pete(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: UK Posts: 509	This is a brand new battery, used once in water for about 40 mins. Topped off for about 3 hours before use as I wasn't sure how charged they were delivered. Lovely in water and the light is functioning fine. It just appears that the charger isn't going fast or something. __________________ The shortesk pink mask wearing str#ke on DIRx apparently

July 7th, 2006, 10:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
thostr(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tromsø, North Norway Posts: 22	Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete) Hey folks, Mine's been going for nigh on 20 hours (in a couple of 'shifts') I think and the light still hasn't gone out. Anybody have this happen? Never seen this happen with mine (or other SLA-based dive light batteries I've had), and I would say that this is indicative of either a failed battery, loose cabling or failed charger. Aquiring a new battery could be the cheapest way to try to resolve the problem, apart from checking the cabling of course. In Norway a new battery costs around £8 (standard off the shelf SLA battery with the exact same battery case dimensions and battery specifications). How many recharge cycles on the particular battery and what's the typical degree of discharge (%) of the battery?

July 8th, 2006, 01:29 PM	#4 (permalink)
thostr(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tromsø, North Norway Posts: 22	Quote: (Originally Posted by Little Pete) This is a brand new battery, used once in water for about 40 mins. Topped off for about 3 hours before use as I wasn't sure how charged they were delivered. Lovely in water and the light is functioning fine. It just appears that the charger isn't going fast or something. Ah, brand new stuff? probably faulty then, just have it changed for new equipment at your retailer...

July 8th, 2006, 01:40 PM	#5 (permalink)
*Bob Cooper*(Offline) Moderator - "Don't stop me now!" Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: South East London, UK Posts: 828	The only way to tell is to burn test the battery. Do this regularly and it will give you a good idea about the state of your battery.

July 8th, 2006, 02:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
thostr(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Tromsø, North Norway Posts: 22	Quote: (Originally Posted by Bob Cooper) The only way to tell is to burn test the battery. Do this regularly and it will give you a good idea about the state of your battery. Only do this with SLA batteries if you are truly dependent on your light i.e. in cave environments or similar, as a full discharge causes extra strain to this type of battery and severely reduces the number of usable charge cycles you can expect from the battery. Burn test only before critical dives. Instead, avoid full discharges and if possible around 50% on as many dives as possible. Then SLA will last a long time. Good thing with SLA is the low price combined with great reliability (generally much better than NiMH) given that you don't keep discharging the battery fully.